The student was among the speakers at an anti-bullying symposium.

Inside the Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg, Issak Wolfe sat on a stage and held his hands up in front of him, his palms facing each other about shoulder width apart.

He looked at the space he measured. If that space represented the bullying he's experienced being a transgender student at Red Lion Area High School, he said, only a small fraction of it has come from his peers.

Most of that space, he said, is occupied by bullying from adults.

Rather than get angry or shy away, Wolfe said it's important that he speak out.

"The fastest route to change is education," he said. That's why he accepted The Foundation For Hope's invitation to speak at its HopeSummit: A Symposium on Bullying at the bookstore on Saturday.

If people got to know Wolfe, see that he is a real person, an average teenage boy, they would see "I'm a good person," he said. If people can look past their prejudices, Wolfe said, "We won't see problems (with bullying) like this anymore."

Wolfe said he believes bullying is a learned behavior. In his experience, children are more accepting of him than some adults. Children, he said, haven't been taught to exclude people who are different.

Jesse Gantt, the founder of The Foundation For Hope, said he wanted Wolfe to speak at the symposium because with the recent media attention Wolfe's story has gotten, many people know his name.

People like Wolfe, Gantt said, "they're real people, they're not just a headline.

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Gantt told Wolfe that he's helping to promote acceptance "just by being yourself."

Wolfe acknowledged the love and support he has from his family and friends, including his father and girlfriend of two years who were in the audience Saturday.

But Wolfe admitted some people don't have the same support. He encouraged those people to go online and look for resources, like The Foundation for Hope.

"Teasing is one thing," Russell said, bullying is another. "It's not just boys being boys and girls being girls. It's people hurting each other. We have got to stop that."

Russell said some people still don't accept people who are different. But listening to Wolfe speak out in an effort to educate, he said, gives him hope.

"Love is greater than fear," Russell said.

Issak Wolfe to address Red Lion Area School Board

Issak Wolfe didn't get a chance to be named prom king.

"It I wouldn't have won, I wouldn't have won," the transgender Red Lion Area Senior High School senior said Saturday. "But I never got my shot."

Wolfe's chosen name was removed from the prom king ballot, and his legal name, Sierra Stambaugh was instead placed on the prom queen ballot.

Now that prom's over, Wolfe is focusing his attention on graduation.

The school district, according to the ACLU of Pennsylvania, will allow Wolfe to wear a black cap and gown to graduation, instead of the yellow cap and gown worn by female students. However, the district has denied other requests, including that Wolfe's male name be read at the ceremony.

Benjamin Pratt, the district's attorney, said the district made the decision after reviewing its policies, which the district believes are written and followed in accordance with federal and state laws.

Wolfe said he wants to see the district policies changed so other students don't have to go through what he has.

Wolfe said he plans to attend the Red Lion Area School Board meeting Thursday, to speak about why the board "should adopt a newer, better policy."

Help is out there

Brad Martin, president of The Foundation For Hope, said help is available for anyone experiencing bullying, depression or thoughts of suicide. The foundation has a 24-hour hot line, 1-855-HOPE-611, or 1-855-467-3611.

"We have hundreds of resources we can give to somebody," Martin said. "A lot of the phone calls we get are from people who just want to know they're not alone.